Wayguard and platform construction for machine tools



DCC. 5, H' M' LUCAS WAYGUARD AND PLATFORM CONSTRUCTION FOR MACHINE TOOLSNum um w' /A/ VEN roe.' #fewer/1.406,45

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AI77-ORNE Ys H. M. LUCAS Dec. 57 E333.

WAYGUARD AND PLATFORM CONSTRUCTION FOR MACHINE TOOLS Filed June 6, 19313 Sheets-Sheet 2 VVE/V701?. /WQ y M UCAS mam JM 5 ArroR/VEYS.

Dec. 5, 1933. H. M LUCAS 1,937,659

WAYGUARD AND PLATFORM CONSTRUCTION FOR MACHINE TOOLS Filed June` 6, 19313 Sheets-Sheet 3 ILD ATWPNEYS.

against injury Patented Dec. 5, 1933 WAYGUARD AND'PLATFORM 'ooNsTnUolTron-Fon mon-INE 'rooLs y Henry M.

signor to Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio` -v Lucas,VClevelairdiHeights, Ohio; as-r The Lucas Machine Tool Compzmy, y

Application June 6,1931. serial No. '542,643l zo claims. (CI. 291-26)This invention relates to machine tools and has particular reference tomachines of the horizontal boring machine type wherein the work isadapted to be fixed to a table movable crosswise of a saddle which inturn is movable along Ways of the bed extending longitudinally thereof.

In machines of this type, increasing sizes ofY work `pieces to bemachined have required gradual increases in `the width of the machine,i. e., in the length Vof the saddle crosswise of the machine andtherefore in the distance between the longitudinally extending waysalong which the saddle is adapted to slide. However, as machines lofthis kind have heretofore been constructed, there is a'limit to theextent to which the Width can be increased, the width being limited bythe requirement that 'the operator must be able, While standing on thefloor on either side` oi the machine, to'reach in and have access to thetool .or tools supported vby the spindle or boring bar. f

The object of the present invention is to provide. a constructionwherein there is practically no ylimit imposed on the width which may begiven to a machine of this kind, thus making it possible for the machineto accommodate work pieces ci greater sizes than heretofore.

In the attainment of the above object, the bed of the machine is loweredsothat thel ways are nearly at the floor level, and I provide .over theways combined waygu'ards and a platform which constitute a more or lesscomplete covering for the ways and for the machine bed between the ways,this structure not only protecting the Ways from falling objects and thelike but being formed of material such that they will readily stand theweight of the. operator so that it will be possible for him to step uponto' the platform and thus have easy access to the tools, a conditionorv situation which would be very difficult with unusually wide machinesif constructed as heretofore.

The invention may be briefly'summarized as consisting in certain novelcombinations and arrangements of parts which will be described in thespec'iii'cation and set forth in the appended claims. v

In the accompanying drawings, f

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine of the horizontal boringmachine type equipped with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan vew of the same with a part in section. Y

Fig. 3 is an end view looking toward ythe `headl 'end of the machine;

- have illustrated such wise thereof 'or transversely of the 'bed `10.'`vI but the maier` portion of the mechanism has Fig. 4 isa sectionalview' substantially along" the'line 4,--4 of Fig. A1; i f 1 Fig. 5 is.an `.enlarged sectional view, :substaneVv tially along the line 5;-5Aof Fig. 1, :showing-pare' ticularly the :combined wayguard andplatform; 66

and f v v Fig. :6 is an .enlarged detail fsectionalvew showingparticularlyjthemanner of -attaching.- and operating one of certaincurtain-like mem-v bers which are attached to the saddle and v.are 05wound up or unwound as the` saddle ismoved along the 'ways of. the bed,these members clos-1. ing gaps between the main horizontal :guard and`platform members which are stationarily mounted. y j, y

Above I have mentioned the .fact that lmyinvention .has especialutilityv witha particular kind: of a'machine, namely, amac'hine oi.thehorizontal boring 'machine type, andin the .dra-wings,` the gureswofwhich are `briefly a machine. However', it is not unlikely that myinvention 'has utility in connection with other'types of `machine tools,and HI wish it to vbe understood that my invention 'is not necessarilyconfined to, and in my `claims Ldo not intend to coniine my inventionto, a machine of this type.' v L I Reierri-ng now to the drawings, v`120represents the l`bed fof the machine, the majorportion off whichisbelowxthe iioorlevel indicated at F in' 85 Figs. 1`, 43 ar1d ilr .Atone'end o'f themachine 'is a head columnll .-on which lisfvertical-lyslidable a head 12 carrying 1a' spindle 13 which mayA drivel suitabletools such asa boring vbar l14 the `out/er i end of which is adapted tobe supported in 'a'90 block 15 vertically `slidable lsynchrcnously withthe head 12 in an. outer support ertail column 16.- The -headcolu'mnlisxed on the bed but the v tail column' 16 'is-preterablyfmovable alongthe' bed on the same wayslthat' accommodate jthe 95 saddle 17 which lismovable back and forth -be'- tween the head column l-l'and tailcolumn 16andi' carries the work supporting table L18 whichgis slidablelon `-waysof the saddle extending len'g-thf' might mention at thief-'point that myinvention does not reside in the v niecl'ianism for operating any loftheparts, such as for moving thehead up and down, -forf rotating thespindle, for-shifting y the outer-support :or tail column v16, formoving the-saddle -leng'thwis'eofthe bed-or the table transversely-ofthe bedL-Inva- Vmachine of this kind, provision isma'del for operatingor moving these parts by power and many of them b y hand, no

1described above; 1 75 l form includes in this not been shown and none`will be referred to as all these parts may be actuated manually or bypower in any suitable manner or by any desiredv there are three ways 19,two along the sides vof? the bed and one at theY middle thereof,`the inetermediate support provided by the middle way 19 being highly desirablein machines of considerable width, it being Aremembered that with myinvention there is practically no limitV to whichY the width of themachine may be extended-at rleast convenience of operationv imposes nolimit.

Coming now to the parts more directly involvingr the invention, in orderthat .the operator may have convenient .access to the tools located ator near. the center line of themachine, I provide acombined wayguardconstruction andv platform. on kwhich he. can step and in fact uponwhich he can walk entirely across the machine, for, in 'accordance withthe preferred form of the'invention Y chine from substantially one sideof thel bed to '30,.. the other, regardless of the width of the latter.

This combined wayguard construction and platinstance three stationaryhorizontallguard and vplatform ,members 20, 21

, and 22 preferably formed of very heavy gauge y fiat rolled steel. Thegauge of the steel is preferably such that the platform members aresubstantially rigid and will not flex under the weight of an operator,and the gauge may vary slightly fordifferent machines. depending uponthedistancebetween the .points at which it is supported. The members 20and-21-arein this instance'wider than themember 22 andthey extendfromsub-.. stantially thesides of the Vbedinwardly toward the`r center, andrthesmember 22 is somewhat f; abovethe'former and covers or closesthe gapbetween them, note particularly Figs. 4.and5. Ver- Y tically theyfarelocated somewhat above the threeways V19 (Fig. 4) the middle member. 22being somewhat further from the middle way 19 in' orderthat .there may.be' sufficient metal vbeway `19 to accommodate oneA oftheoperatingscrews or shafts.`

tween it VVand 'the As before stated, these guard'vanrd .platformYmembers are stationary; YAttheir forward ends F5?V they are `supporledon the base of the head col-v vumn l1 andgatgtheir'rear ends they are'supported on asocalled shaft-support 23 which isglocated in.

stationary position at; ,the rear end Yof Ythebed 10.

The guard and .platform members maybe sup;y 60...-poried on thebase ofthe column 11 Vand on the shaft support 23 ,in any suitable wayv but.prefu erably .they rest upon and are` secured to suitable attachingsupports, suchy as `angles 2li (seepar-- ticularly Fig. 5),. Theseguardand platform 6,5, j members pass freely through the saddle 17 andoutergsupport or tail column 16` and preferably they .are supportedthereby, that is to say, thel Vsaddleafrolbase Of theI outer support ortail'column have horizontal slotsv .(note Figs. 1 and 4), 7 0 throughwhich ihamembers 20,21 Aand 22 extend;

with the,l latter resting on the lower walls vforming the slots. Asaresult of supporting-,these guards and platform members intermediatetheir ends onthe saddle andtail column` the distance between; points ofsupport is reduced' anda lighter weight of the operator as ber 2o` andfrom the latter to further against chips it extends across the ma.

scribed.v The drums end of the machine gauge steel may be employed, butit is to be undersood that in all instances a sufficiently heavy steelmust be used to prevent bending under the ne steps up onto the platform.I may, if desired, secure to the lower side of the saddle the equivalentof-steps 25 which can be conveniently formed by attachinga plate to theunder side of the saddle where it projects Ylaterally beyond the frontside of the bed a channel member 25a (note Fig. 3). I do not regardthese steps'as necessary, but they are ratherV convenient and make iteasier for the operator to pass over the machine across the platform asthe distances 'from the iioor to these steps and from*V the stepstothefrontguard and platformmemand platform' member 22 are substantially uni`form. V

Inasmuch as the guard and platform members 20, 21 'and`22 span ihedistance and cover the space betweenfthe outer sides ofY the bed,.it isobvious that the waysv 19of vthe. bed Yareyprotected bythesegmembersalone 'against articles falling upon. them, but I wishtojprotect them the-surfaces ofthe ways; and vtherefore I cover thevertical openings. .where necessary between the the ofthe beneath. Iprefer to accomplish this by flexible strips 26 which are wound ontoor'unwound from spring drums 27 andat their outer free ends are.

'These strips may L attached at 23 tothesaddle. bek formed Iof ilexiblemetal, such as copper :or

brass, andv at theiredges extend intoqgrooves formed in the guardmembersand bed, as clearly shownV in `Fig. 5.` In all, I prefer-to employ. sixof Vthese drums and..lexible strips (note Fig. 2),

four being located between the saddle and the.

head of the machine vand two being located. between the saddle andtherear end of the machine. The springs drums for the fourstripswhichare located between the saddle .and the head of ther and the bed and theVertical spaces the outer portions ofthe upperjcentral guardV platform.member portions of. the members'20 and..2.l;beneath, ihe edgesfof thestrips running Vinto thegrooves of the upper andl lower members,aspreviously de for` the other. .two lflexible strips which extendsupport'a vv(noteV Fig. 2) and. they areattached totA e saddle Vso astoV covergthe ver.ticalspaces between the upper central'guard andplatformv member 22and the guard andplatform members j thesaddletheouter 2G. and 21. Rearwardly of vertical spaces between the guard andplatform members '2o and 21`andthebed are not ciosed'y as 'f it is notthought that closure ofthese spacesk isnecessary. Thearrangement is suchtha'as'the` A saddle is moved inwardly the four forward drums wind inthe strips while the two rear drums pay out the strips, andwhenthesaddle is movedrear-V fi n" n wardly, the reverse action takesplace. y

itwill Abe v`seen that I have From vthe above provided a very practicalconstruction wherein the width of the horizontal boring mill and simi;

vlar types of machines can be .extended a greatf" the middle guardandthe like lodging on guardy andl platform meinbersZO and 21 and bedand between the uppercenfral guard` platformmeniber 22 Aand the adjacentedges if guard and platforn'iv members 2,0 and 211 of the guard-andplatform'mem-fA 22 and the inner.

from rthe .saddle io therear are. supported onv the 'shaft' v fallingobjects.

While I have shown the preferred'construction, vI do not desire 'to beconfined to the precise details but aim in my claims to cover allmodications which `do not-involve a departure from the spirit and scopeof the invention and also to various applications of my invention to`different kinds of machine tools as long as the construction is such thatrnv invention in its present form or more or less obviously modified maybe applied thereto.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. A machine tool having a bed with ways, a member slidably supported onsaid ways, com# bined guard and platform members extending over the bedso as to substantially cover it, said combined guard and platformmembers adapted to support an operative and protect a plurality of saidways and the bed therebetween being stationary and extending through andin supporting relation with said sliding member.

2. In a machine tool, ra bed having ways for a sliding member, awayguard and platform construction comprising plates extending substan-4tially horizontally over the bed, and upright strips between the platesand the bed, the ends of said strips being attached to the 'slidablemember.

3. A machine tool having a bed withways forone or more sliding members,a

wayguard and platform construction comprising plates extending over thebed and includinga central plate above two outer plates, and uprightstrips closing the vertical spaces between the central plate and theouter plates.

4. A machine tool having a bed with ways for one or more slidingmembers, a wayguard and platform construction comprising plates extendfing over the bed and including a central plate above two outer plates,and upright stripsclosingthe vertical spaces between the central plateand the outer plates, said strips at their ends being attached to one ofthe sliding members.

5. In a machine a sliding member, a combined wayguard and platformconstruction comprising horizontal stationary plates extending over thebed, and spring drums carrying vertical strips attachedy to the slidingmember and serving to close the vertical spaces against entrance offoreign particles.

6. In a machine tool, a bed having waysV for a sliding member, acombined guard and platform construction including stationary platesattached at their ends to head and tail portions of the machine andpassing through the slidingv member, and drums located at the head andtail portions of the machine having strips the ends of which extend toand are attachedto the sliding member, said strips serving as closuresfor vertical spaces between the plates and the bed or between the platesthemselves.

7. In a machine tool, a bed having outer ways and an inner way, aslidable member movable along said ways, wayguards extending over allsaid waysand through said slidable member, the

operative. I L

tool, a bed having ways for guard forrthej inner. way being `above :andprov jecting over the guards for the outer ways.

v8.1 A machine tool comprising a frame member, a ipluralityfof ways onsaid-.frame member., a movable'v member supported on said ways, and

Vplatform `means: supported 4by vone of 'said members andprojecting-over said ways spaced therefrom and adapted'to-.support anoperative.

9. A machine 'tool `comprising 'a frame member, a plurality foflongitudinal 'wayspn said frame member, fa movable imem'ber .supportedon said Ways, land'platf'orm means supported by one 'of said membersVand'projecting rinto -the other -of'.l

said members and" adapted Ito -support an 10. A machine tool comprisinga framemember, Va plurality of longitudinal ways on said frame member, amovable member supported onY said ways, and'platform -means formed ofsubstantially rigid material supported by one of said members andextending through the other ofA said members and adapted to support anoperative. Y y

11. A -machine toolcomprising a frame member, a plurality oflongitudinal ways Y on said frame member, aimovable member supported onsaid ways, and platform means supported by saidl n members adapted tosupport an operative. 12. A machine toolA comprising a frame member, aplurality of longitudinal ways on said frame member, a movable membersupported on'said ways, and platform `means approximately the width ofsaid bed membersupported by one of said members and adapted to supportan opera tive.

13. A machine tool comprising a bed member, a plurality of longitudinalways on said bed member, a movable member supported on said ways, Yandplatform means approximately thev width of said bed member supported byone of said members and extending through the other `of said membersadapted to support an operative.

14. A machine tool comprising a frame mem'` ber, a plurality ofhorizontally spaced wayson said frame member, a movable member supportedon said ways, and guard means adapted to protect a plurality of saidways and said frame therebetween supported by one of said members, saidguard means projecting over said ways spaced therefrom and embracing aplurality of said y Yextending through the other of said'members andembracing a plurality vof said Ways and said frame member therebetween.

. 16. A machine tool comprising a bed, a plurality of ways on said bed,a member supported f on said ways, a guard-above said ways and supportedby said bed, and a flexible member between said guard and said bed.

17. A machine tool comprising a bed, a plul rality of ways on said bed,a member supported on said ways, guard means above said ways supportedby'said bedand extending vthrough saidmeans between said rst v member,and guard mentioned guard means and said bed, oneV end ofl said secondmentioned guard means being conv nected to said movable member.

18. YA machine tool comprising a frame' member,Y a plurality oflongitudinall Ways 'on said frame member, a movable member supported onsaid Ways, a plurality of overlapping guardssupported by one of saidmembers above ksaid ways.

and projecting into the other kof saidmembers,

Y one of said guards being located above the other.

19. A machine tool comprising a frame, a horizontal bed member forming apart of said frame, a plurality of spaced longitudinal Ways on said bedmember, a movable member supported on said Ways, a plurality Yof spacedguards above said Ways, said guards being supportedby one of saidmembers and projecting into the other of said members, and ay centerguard supported by one of v said members and projecting intov the otherof 'said members,` said center guard extending from one of saidspaceolguards to the other and oiset' therefrom..

20. A machine tool comprisinga frame, al1-ori'-` zontal bedmemberforming-a part of said frame, a plurality of. spacedlongitudinalways on said bed member including athird waylocatedbe-lwma..

